Tell the Department of Energy to strengthen regulations for gas stoves

20,331

Supporters spoke up in this action

Delivery to Department of Energy

Action ended on April 17, 2023

What Happens Next

Thank you to all who took action! We’re grateful for your support.

What Was At Stake

Gas stoves have been a hot topic as of late — and for good reason. New research linking childhood asthma to gas stoves has brought a lot of attention to how we power our home appliances. The Department of Energy is proposing new energy efficiency standards to require that gas stoves waste less gas, which saves people money and reduces harmful emissions. Send a letter to the DOE and urge them to finalize this commonsense standard today!

Methane gas stoves seriously compromise people’s indoor air quality. These stoves emit nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, and formaldehyde. These gases present harm to humans and are especially linked to illnesses like asthma and other breathing problems. The full proposed rule, which includes updated standards for electric and gas residential stoves and ovens, would result in savings of up to $1.7 billion for U.S. households in our energy bills and avert about 22 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions over 30 years of sales.

The Department of Energy is looking to adopt commonsense efficiency standards which would reduce harmful cooktop emissions. This rule would require new methane gas stove models sold in the U.S. to meet a performance level that will reduce gas consumption. Gas stove producers would have three years to ensure their products meet the standard. Roughly half of all methane gas stoves on the market today already meet the proposed standard and these models consume 30% less energy than the least-efficient models on the market to do the same amount of cooking.

This standard is a commonsense way to reduce gas stove pollution and improve people’s indoor air quality. Send a letter in support to the DOE today!

Close up of burning gas stove.
(Maciej Toporowicz / Getty Images)

Your Actions Matter

Your messages make a difference, even if we have leaders who don't want to listen. Here's why.

You level the playing field.

Elected officials pay attention when they see that we are paying attention. Read more.

They may be hearing from industry lobbyists left and right, but hearing the stories of their constituents — that’s your power.

Our legislators serve at the pleasure of the people who gave them their job — you.

Make sure your elected officials know whose community and whose values they represent. When you contact your elected official, you’re putting a face and a name on an issue.

Whether or not you voted for them, they work for you, for the duration of their term.

Make sure your elected officials know whose community and whose values they represent. (Find your local, state, and federal elected officials.)

Your action is with us in court.

If a federal agency finalizes a harmful action, the record of public comments provides a basis for bringing them into court. Read more.

Throughout each of the public comment periods we alert you to, Earthjustice’s attorneys are researching and writing in-depth, technical comments to submit — detailing how the regulation could and should be stronger to protect the environment, our communities, and our planet.

We need you to join us — your specific experiences, knowledge, and voice are crucial to add to the Administrative Record through the comment periods.

Lawsuits we file that challenge weak or harmful federal regulations rely on what was submitted during the comment period. The court can only look at documents that are in the Administrative Record — including the public comments — to decide if the agency did something improper.

Your actions aid our litigation. Taking action and submitting comments during a comment period is substantively important.

It’s the law.

Federal agencies must pause what they’re doing and ask for — and consider — your comment. Read more.

Many of us may have never heard of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), but laws like these require our government to ask the public to weigh in before agencies adopt or change regulations.

Regulations essentially describe how federal agencies will carry out laws — including decisions that could undermine science, or weaken safeguards on public health.

Public comments are collected at various points throughout the federal government’s rulemaking process, including when a regulation is proposed and finalized. (Learn about the rulemaking process.) These comments become part of the official, legal public record — the “Administrative Record.”

When the public responds with a huge outpouring of support for environmental protections, these individual messages collectively undercut politicians' attempts to claim otherwise.

What this means is each of us can take a role in shaping the rules our government creates — and ensuring those rules are fair and effective.